Geethaanjali

Did You Know?

• The soundtrack tracks 'Koodilla Kuyilamme' and 'Pavizha Munthiri' were revisions of 'Jaana Hai Tujhko' and 'Maine Hawa Ke Paron' from Priyadarshan's 2008 Hindi film Mere Baap Pehle Aap.
• The film's storyline inspired an unofficial adaptation in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022), a standalone sequel to Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), which in turn was a remake of Manichitrathazhu.

Plot

Anjali's twin sister, Geetha, is thought to have taken her own life. Anjali is engaged to Anoop, who comes from a well-known family and works in Mumbai. After their mother suffers a fall from a terrace and becomes paralyzed and bedridden, Anjali and Anoop travel to her home in Arackal, Kerala. Once there, Anjali is greatly disturbed by what seems to be Geetha's spirit haunting her. A string of terrifying events quickly unfolds. Anoop reaches out to Nakulan to contact Dr. Sunny Joseph, who eventually arrives from Machu Picchu to treat Anjali and help her through the crisis.

Because everyone believes the house is haunted, the family purchases a new one. The future owner, Vasu, claims he saw Geetha in a car and wrote down the license plate number on a file. He promises to give it to them the next day, but receives a phone call from Geetha's spirit asking him to meet her at the church the following morning. He goes there and calls Sunny for help, but is killed before Sunny can intervene. Sunny spots a car leaving the church and follows it, but the killer has already exited the vehicle before Sunny can identify him. Anjali tells Sunny that Geetha committed suicide after discovering that Anjali and Anoop loved each other. Sunny then seeks assistance from Kadalikkattu Thirumeni, who also concludes that Anjali is possessed by Geetha's ghost.

More gruesome events occur, including the death of Thambichayan, a caretaker at Arakal. Sunny insists that the ghost haunting Anjali is merely a psychological phenomenon, not real. He tries to postpone the marriage for reasons he does not fully explain, but fails. Anoop suspects Sunny is trying to separate him from Anjali and drives Sunny out of the house. At that moment, Anoop witnesses Thambichayan die in a fire from a cottage. On the day of their engagement, Sunny grabs Anoop and forces him into his car. He drives to a small graveyard and reveals that Anjali is actually Geetha, and that she has criminal intentions.

Production

Priyadarshan had previously served as a second-unit director on the 1993 film Manichitrathazhu, directed by his friend Fazil. According to Priyadarshan, actor Mohanlal wanted to bring back the character Sunny and was searching for the right story. The new film is not a direct sequel, but Mohanlal again plays Dr. Sunny Joseph, the psychiatrist he portrayed in the original. Priyadarshan described the genre as a thriller and whodunit, avoiding slapstick or forced comedy, though he added some humor to lighten the tension. He called Geethanjali a psychological thriller set in a supposedly haunted bungalow. Because the story has a Christian backdrop, he brought in screenwriter Dennis Joseph to handle the dialogue. Actress Shobana, who played Ganga in Manichitrathazhu, was originally meant to appear in a guest role introducing Dr. Sunny as the psychiatrist who treated her, but that plan fell through. Geethanjali is an official remake of the 2007 Thai film Alone.

Mohanlal reprised his role as Dr. Sunny Joseph. During pre-production in June 2012, the team looked for a lead actress, shortlisting candidates from the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Hindi film industries. They chose Keerthy Suresh, daughter of actress Menaka and producer Suresh Kumar, for her debut lead role. She had earlier worked as a child artist in Pilots (2000), Achaneyanenikkishtam (2001), and Kuberan (2002), as well as a tele-film by Suresh Krishna. Her father is a family friend of both Mohanlal and Priyadarshan. Nishan K. P. Nanaiah was cast as Anoop, the fiancé of Keerthy Suresh’s character. Actor Innocent made his return to films with Geethanjali after undergoing cancer treatment. He agreed to act only after Mohanlal and Priyadarshan insisted, and he set aside ten days for the shoot.

Release

The Central Board of Film Certification gave Geethaanjali a U/A rating. Originally set for an October 2013 release, the film was pushed back to November 14 due to unfinished graphics work. It opened in more than 300 theaters worldwide on that date, with 90 of those in Kerala; Seven Arts Release handled distribution within India. PJ Entertainments secured European distribution, releasing the film in the United Kingdom across 61 theaters, as well as in Austria, Finland, Germany, Sweden, and Italy. Singapore’s release was moved to November 16, distributed by Singapore Coliseum. The movie also reached Japan. Before its theatrical debut, Asianet had already acquired the television satellite rights.

Reception

Geethaanjali faced criticism for its resemblance to the 2007 Thai film Alone and its 2012 Kannada-Tamil bilingual remake Chaarulatha. Sify.com noted that even for viewers unfamiliar with the original, the film was poorly written and barely engaging. Paresh C. Palicha of Rediff.com gave it two out of five stars, stating the story borrowed from multiple sources, including Alone and Chaarulatha, and pointed out a striking similarity to the 2007 Malayalam film Nadiya Kollappetta Rathri. Aswin J. Kumar of The Times of India awarded two-and-a-half stars, describing the script as unsteady, giving away hints too quickly or getting lost in trivial details to stretch the narrative, and noting that even without comparisons, it never achieved the compelling mystery of a psychological thriller.

The film was released on 14 November in about 300 theatres worldwide, with Seven Arts Release handling distribution in India. It collected a certain amount on its opening day in Kerala, and within four days, it grossed a sum from Kerala and another sum from other Indian states, for a total Indian gross over that period. In the UK, it earned £14,403, but overall, its theatrical run was considered unsuccessful. In 2016, it was dubbed into Tamil as Vennila Minnala, with producers hoping to capitalise on Keerthy Suresh's growing popularity in the Tamil film industry.

Though it was an official remake of Alone, this fact was kept quiet. The screenplay drew criticism for its similarities to Alone, Chaarulatha, and Nadiya Kollappetta Rathri. An International Business Times article from 2014 mentioned that Geethaanjali was partially inspired by Agatha Christie's 1972 detective novel Elephants Can Remember. Notably, Chaarulatha was an official remake of Alone, and both Alone and Nadiya Kollappetta Rathri were loosely based on the same Christie novel.